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To put public space at the heart of public discourse where it belongs

tying culture change to economics

“We can shift the paradigm of how we build our cities; thinking about economics is a great way to do that because it cuts through the political divide.”

What role are public-private partnerships going to have in funding development in cities? Is that just happy talk or is there reality to it? Hsu-Chen: It’s very real talk. And we’re getting smarter and better at it. Right now a lot of the incentives the city offers are around getting the right density at transit nodes. Kate and I worked together on a project just a couple years ago—Kate in the private sector, I in the public—to deliver a new state-of-the-art skyscraper right across the street from Pennsylvania Station.

The world has become increasingly urban—more than 50 percent of the globe’s population now live in cities. How can we make them more sustainable, efficient, and prosperous?

We don’t have a strong central government. We have a federal system.

Thursday afternoon in Savannah, Ga., the head of the Department of Housing and Urban Development will unveil a pilot program meant to address poor maintenance conditions at public housing developments across the nation. HUD’s idea?  Let outside investors fix them up.

The problem: Like tens of thousands of other subsidized developments, Tobie Grant Manor falls under Section 9 of the federal housing act. Any money to fix it up has to come from the government, and HUD says it’s about $26 billion short.

That’s why HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan says shifting properties like Tobie Grant Manor from Section 9 to Section 8 gives more options.  

11 key elements in transforming public spaces into vibrant community places,

identify the talents and assets within the community.

will help to create a sense of community ownership in the project that can be of great benefit to both the project sponsor and the community.

“’Placemaking’ is both an overarching idea and a hands-on tool for improving a neighborhood, city or region. It has the potential to be one of the most transformative ideas of this century.”

Placemaking is both a process and a philosophy

his process is essential–even sacred–to people who truly care about the places in their lives.

What role are public-private partnerships going to have in funding development in cities? Is that just happy talk or is there reality to it? Hsu-Chen: It’s very real talk. And we’re getting smarter and better at it. Right now a lot of the incentives the city offers are around getting the right density at transit nodes. Kate and I worked together on a project just a couple years ago—Kate in the private sector, I in the public—to deliver a new state-of-the-art skyscraper right across the street from Pennsylvania Station.

In Europe you have a strong central government that can come in and work with the private sector to deliver something locally. Here it’s up to the municipalities to figure out how to use those public-private partnerships at the local level to deliver the types of benefits that Edith was talking about.

Public Access Requirements In all districts, residential, commercial and community facility developments on waterfront zoning lots (except for residential uses in low-density residence districts, heavy commercial and industrial uses in Use Groups 16, 17 and 18, and certain city infrastructure facilities, such as airports) are required to provide and maintain public open space at the water’s edge with pedestrian links to upland communities. Public access is also mandated on piers, platforms and floating structures. Water-dependent uses, such as docks for ferries and marinas, are also required to provide waterfront public access areas but are subject to a more flexible standard.

Retail and services: At least 50% of a building’s frontage on a public plaza must be occupied by retail or service establishments allowed under the applicable underlying zoning district. These uses may include neighborhood retail uses such as restaurants, supermarkets and clothing stores. Certain uses that are incompatible with the goal of providing active, enlivening establishments adjacent to the public plaza are prohibited, including offices, wholesale establishments, automobile servicing and showrooms, public parking garages and lots, certain manufacturing establishments, banks, and plumbing, heating, and ventilating equipment showrooms. To ensure that valuable retail spaces are provided, each such establishment is required to be at least 15 feet in depth.

Place Capital can be defined as the shared wealth (built and natural) of the public realm – and it is increasingly becoming society’s most important means of generating sustainable economic growth for communities.

Where Place Capital is strongest people actually compete to contribute to this shared wealth, often changing their behavior in ways that ultimately support the value the place gives to others.

Public markets, town commons, and communal wells are early examples of human efforts to create these ‘shared value generators’ in physical places. Today, public places receive relatively little focus and investment above the necessary infrastructure and facilities to support production and distribution.

corporations like Boeing and Exelon have added $12 million in donations.

The High Line has reportedly spurred more than $2 billion in area investment. Though it cost the city $112 million, the park is expected to bring in an estimated $900 million in additional tax revenues over two decades.

already New York City’s second-most popular attraction, pulling in nearly 4.5 million visitors in 2012, and ranks among the most influential public works projects of the past half-century, altering our thinking about public space and urban revival.

To date, however, the industry has yet todevelop standards to evaluate ESG datathat compare to its traditional evaluation o portolio perormance.

  5 Responsible Property Investment [RPI] is anemerging investment strategy and disciplineconcerned with integrating environmental,social, and governance [ESG] data intoinvestment decision-making

Real estate investment plays a undamentalrole in determining how society usesresources, how the built environmentshapes social lie, how economic activitycan be sustainable over time. As an assetclass, real estate oers especially tangibledemonstrations o the importance o ESGanalysis in creating value or investors andsociety alike. We believe that a robustmetrics system can help shape the marketto better create sustainable outcomes or allstakeholders

Under Title III, companies wishing to sell stock to the public will have to provide information to investors and the S.E.C., including financial disclosures that grow more extensive as the size of the offerings increases. They will be allowed to sell stock only through an intermediary: either a broker-dealer or a specialized crowdfunding Web site, or portal. The intermediaries will have to take steps to ensure that small investors are protected, even from themselves. The law limits how much a person can invest in crowdfunding in a year, depending on income and net worth.

protection measures could, if fully adopted, make crowdfunding prohibitively expensive.

“Crowdsourcing is the process by which the power of the many can be leveraged to accomplish feats that were once the province of a specialized few.” And a lot more will change, very quickly.

In Europe, equity-based crowdfunding allows people buy an ownership stake in your business. That practice is illegal in the U.S., but will likely gain steam in a global marketplace where individuals can use platforms like Symbid to help propel an interesting new business into the marketplace. Social lending sites like LendingClub or Prosper permit you to legally crowdfund your for-profit startup in the U.S., but you’ll have to start paying it back immediately, and you could be left liable for the loan if the business fails.

Crowdsourcing will only grow, and it’s up to you to weigh the risks and benefits of using it to extend your enterprise. It may serve a single, specific purpose, or support a key component of your operating blueprint across your organization, or it may not be the right choice--at least not yet.

It is my pleasure to introduce you to Michigan Impact. The University of Michigan is having tremendous impact throughout our communities. From the downtowns of Detroit and Grand Rapids and the shorelines of Traverse City and Muskegon, to the community colleges of the Upper Peninsula and the medical clinics in mid-Michigan, U-M is committed to improving the quality of life in the Great Lakes State.

A new $9 million U-M Great Lakes research and education center will guide efforts to protect and restore the world's largest group of freshwater lakes by reducing toxic contamination, combating invasive species, protecting wildlife habitat and promoting coastal health.

Nearly $1.7 billion in support for the U-M comes from donors and gifts from every county across Michigan. Support also comes from alums, and that happened in a significant way this year in the arts at U-M.

small donors help lay the foundation for

major municipal innovations, galvanizing communities.

Creative People? Collaborative Spaces? Innovative Places? According to the event’s website – politicians, private consultants, architects, community development advocates, culture workers, and public space activists are meeting to plan the future of urban policy.

Hamilton Joins the Fight Against the Creative City!

Why have endowments outperformed traditional investments?

The alternatives effect By investing in less liquid alternatives, endowments are typically able to construct a higher yielding portfolio with less correlation to the broader markets. The quality of the manager Illiquid, alternative investments are more difficult to evaluate than publicly traded securities. Skilled managers that are adept at taking advantage of pricing inefficiencies in illiquid securities will have a greater impact on returns than skilled managers operating in the public markets, where price inefficiencies are fewer in number and there is generally less return potential.